More than 200 people filled the Waupaca Recreation Center Thursday for a Waupaca County zoning committee meeting that had to be moved from its original location after attendance at last month's session broke fire code.
The meeting addressed proposed changes to the county's zoning laws surrounding large-scale developments, including data centers, solar farms and co-digesters.
More than 30 residents spoke out against the proposed actions during public comment.
Waupaca neighbor Nicolette Collier addressed the committee directly.
"I have never come to a place and seen this many people from both sides of the aisle, coming together to tell you people that what you guys are trying to do is wrong," Collier said.
Other residents echoed that sentiment, urging the committee to reject the proposed changes.
After hours of public comment and another hour of open discussion, the committee approved stronger restrictions on data centers and solar farms. Officials said no data centers are currently being proposed in the county.
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The most contested item — a proposed change to the approval process for co-digesters — was tabled for at least another month. Co-digesters are waste treatment facilities usually built on farms.
Most speakers opposed to the co-digester proposal said they were concerned the change would reduce the authority of local villages and towns, making it easier for co-digesters to be built and potentially leading to increased pollution.
One resident captured the sentiment of many in the room.
"We just want to live in the land God created for us, this land gets more polluted every day," a resident said.
